Gary Johnson to drop GOP bid for Libertarian run

By
Steve Peoples

EXETER, N.H. - Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who has
drawn little attention with his bid for the Republican nomination for
president, is dropping his GOP campaign to run for the Libertarian Party
nomination.

Johnson plans to announce his candidacy for the Libertarian nomination next week, spokesman Joe Hunter said Tuesday night.

"He
is representing a viewpoint and a viewpoint that needs to be heard and
he's going to do whatever it takes to get that done," Hunter told The
Associated Press.

Johnson is fiscally conservative but supports such liberal causes as legalizing marijuana and abortion rights.

Johnson,
who served two terms as New Mexico's governor, has barely registered in
polls. Excluded from all but two of the GOP presidential debates, he
has grown frustrated that he hasn't earned more attention, Hunter said.

Republican
presidential contender Ron Paul, who was the Libertarian candidate for
president in 1988, was supportive of Johnson's decision.

"I
think competitiveness is good. And somebody to have ideas that are
libertarian, I think that is good," Paul told the AP following a New
Hampshire campaign stop Tuesday night. "But I've been through it.
There's a lot of frustrations. ... Just getting on ballots -- it's a
tough job. But some good will come of it."